Tag: Ahmad

The strength that lies in unity is the secret behind Nigeria’s upward surge in both the boardroom and the pitch in global football, the President of the Confederation of African Football, Mr. Ahmad Ahmad.

Ahmad spoke on Sunday at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos at a meeting with Congress of Nigerian Football, which also had in attendance Members of the NFF Executive Committee.

“If you (the Executive Committee and Congress) did not support Amaju (Pinnick) in his decision to support the Change Team before the CAF elections, we would not be here today. Your support underscores the unity of Nigerian Football fraternity, and this is refreshing considering what we have in some other countries.

“Amaju (Pinnick) has been spot-on in at least two major decisions this year: to support the change at CAF and to get the Nigerian fraternity to work assiduously towards Nigeria’s qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. No doubt, Nigeria is the strongest African team going to Russia and we expect so much from the Super Eagles.”

Ahmad advised the Congress to continue to give backing to the vision and mission of the Amaju Pinnick–led NFF, insisting that CAF has the highest regards for Nigeria.

“We are here not only to watch the finale of the AITEO Cup but also to hold the CAF Emergency Committee meeting. Nigeria is a very important country in African football, and will remain so for a long time with the unity and cohesion that I see here this afternoon.”

Earlier, Pinnick told the CAF President and his entourage that though members of the Board do disagree occasionally as normal in any human arrangement, “we have always been able to put our passion and commitment to what is best for the country beyond primordial sentiments.

“When we came on board, we sought to take Nigerian Football to the next level and also sought global recognition. Our hard work is paying off. We have redefined sponsorship; we were one of the first countries to be on the FIFA Connect and; we have auditors one of the most reputable companies in the world (PriceWaterHouse Coopers) while also having an Integrity Officer.”

NFF 1st Vice President Seyi Akinwunmi thanked the CAF President for the gesture of including seven eminent Nigerians in different CAF committees; 2nd Vice President/LMC chairman Shehu Dikko assured that the Nigerian Football family is working towards the same goal and; Sokoto State FA chairman Nasiru Saidu, on behalf of the Congress, pledged absolute loyalty to the Pinnick administration.

Punch Games

Cameroon’s football federation expressed their “consternation” on Monday in response to criticism from African Confederation president Ahmad Ahmad over their prospects of hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Ahmad had said on Saturday that the country’s infrastructure “wasn’t ready” to host the 2019 CAN and even suggested he may open a bidding process to other countries to help in putting on the event.

“The Cameroonian federation has taken note with a profound consternation the recent statements from the CAF president who claims that, in their current state, no site in Cameroon is ready to host the CAN,” said Fecafoot in a statement sent to AFP.

“Fecafoot is vividly concerned by the fact those opinions were passed before even the first CAF inspection mission set for August 20-28 has come to Cameroon.”

Cameroon has launched a vast programme of construction and refurbishment of sports infrastructure in the country with Fecafoot insisting the majority of stadiums will be completed by the end of 2018.

Punch Games

Africa’s new football boss Ahmad Ahmad vowed on Friday that one of his top priorities is to “evolve” the Africa Cup of Nations.

Asked by AFP on Friday if he was against switching the continent’s flagship tournament from its traditional winter slot to the summer he replied: “Not at all.

“My first move will be to listen to people and to start an official debate.

“Anything that concerns the CAN is a priority for us.”

The Madagascan, who ended Issa Hayatou’s 29-year reign as Confederation of African Football president last month, stressed: “We must evolve.

“We must take a decision which will be good for the confederation, not just one that suits the executive committee.”

Ahmad, 57, said he wanted to call on the experience of African stars like Didier Drogba as he sought to turn the page on Hayatou’s long reign.

“I’ve spoken to Drogba by telephone, I saw Abedi Pele, a colleague’s seen Samuel Eto, I talked to Patrick M’boma.

“We’ll organise a meeting soon with representatives from these African stars to discuss their future collaboration with CAF.”

Speaking in Johannesburg, Ahmad said his presidency would focus on greater transparency, and take a tough stand on interference from governments.

“The change I can guarantee is at the level of financial management because perhaps for too long CAF is not at the (proper) standard, with lack of transparency, and bad governance, with interference in the making of decisions.

“All that is going to stop.”

Ahmad then turned to Africa’s performance on the world stage, with the continent guaranteed nine places, an increase of four, at the 2026 World Cup, despite never managing to get beyond the last eight in previous editions.

“There’s lots of talk of the senior World Cup.

“We often forget to talk about the junior World Cup, where Africa excels.

“We have to review the development of football in Africa to find out why the juniors can win titles but why at the senior level we stop at the quarter-finals.”

Punch Games

New African football chief Ahmad Ahmad gave his backing on Tuesday to a potential bid from Morocco to host the 2026 World Cup.

The north African country has bid to host the global showpiece on four previous occasions but missed out on the 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 editions.

“We are convinced that Morocco could organise this competition just as was done by South Africa in 2010,” said Ahmad, who was elected president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) earlier this month to replace Issa Hayatou, at a press conference in Marrakesh.

Ahmad’s backing comes just a few months after FIFA president Gianni Infantino declared that the country has the necessary “infrastructure and organisational capacity” to host the World Cup.

But a year ago, FIFA had accepted that Morocco paid bribes to the former head of the North and Central American Confederation in trying to win the right to host the 1998 and 2010 tournaments — something that could prejudice any future bid.

Punch Games

CAF President Ahmad Ahmad has stepped down as Vice-President of the Madagascar Senate.

Ahmad, who is also the Madagascar Football Federation boss, tendered his resignation on Monday to vacate the office he had occupied since February 2016.

The 57-year-old former AC Sotema coach was later received officially by the members of the MFF and Muslim community at the Carlton Hotel in Antananarivo, where he addressed the gathering.

Ahmad was on Thursday overwhelmingly voted as president of CAF, garnering 34 to 20 votes, to bring to a humiliating halt Issa Hayatou’s 29-year rule.

Hayatou was seeking a record eight straight terms in office. The Cameroonian was first elected to head the largest member of FIFA, the world’s football governing body, in March 1988.

Ahmad, a two-time government minister, is also expected to vacate his position as the MFF president, as required by the CAF rules.

This could happen anytime soon with MFF’s first vice-president Soda Andriamiasasoa expected to take over the reins on an interim basis pending elections.

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Punch Games

Kicking out a man who had clung on to power for 29 years is no mean feat, but Ahmad Ahmad did the unthinkable when he defeated the hitherto invincible Issa Hayatou at Thursday’s CAF elections. ’TANA AIYEJINA takes a look at the men who orchestrated the ‘coup’ that ousted Hayatou from power

The question on the lips of many when his name was announced, was, “Ahmad who?” He was just a mere paperweight coming to contest against the powerful, experienced and highly influential Issa Hayatou for Africa’s top football job, some said.

He was avoided like a plague by several FA presidents – who didn’t want to incur the wrath of Hayatou — at January’s Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. Indeed, he was nobody as far as the so-called political experts of African football were concerned.

But how Madagascan Ahmad Ahmad, a senator and former sports minister in his country, perhaps brought his knowledge of politics to bear on Thursday, when he pulled off an upset with a 34-20 victory to dethrone the long-serving Confederation of African Football president Hayatou during the continental football body’s elections in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has become one of football’s Cinderella stories.

Ahmad needed just 28 votes to land the CAF presidency but bagged 34 votes. This, for keen watchers, was a shock and embarrassing end to Hayatou’s close to three decades stronghold on African football, the Cameroonian having floored his former challengers almost effortlessly.

But Ahmad’s resilient devotees, made up largely of a new and younger crop of football association presidents on the continent, many of whom were just schoolboys when the 70-year-old Cameroonian was first elected president in 1988, orchestrated a campaign, believed to be backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, which gave the sit-tight Hayatou and his allies no chance of an eighth-time comeback.

The man Ahmad

Even though Ahmad may be unpopular in African football, he wields a very strong influence in Madagascar.

“He is the leader of his political party in his region. He got one of the best scores during legislative and communal elections in his region. In our country, Ahmad means football. He is the man of the football. He is a person of integrity, direct and perfectionist and he is fully supported by the government and people of Madagascar,” Madagascan journalist, Haja Lucas, was quoted as saying by KweséSports.

A senator, who was elected Vice President of the Malagasy Senate in February 2016, as well as being a member of CAF’s Executive Committee before being elected president on Thursday, the 57-year-old Ahmad was also a former footballer and starred for local sides Club des Finances de Antananarivo and AC Sotema Mahajanga.

“I was not good enough to play for the national team,” he admitted to KweséSports.

On quitting football, Ahmad went into politics, business and education and he was made the Madagascan Sports Minister at 34, one of the youngest ministers to have emerged from Africa.

With success in printing and farming, he studied Sports Administration at the Université Claude Bernard de Lyon in France, before serving three terms as FA President of Madagascar. He is also a leader of the Muslim community in his native Mahajanga province, which he represents in his country’s Senate.

Ahmad, in working to deny Hayatou an eighth term in office as president, received the support of a younger generation of the FA presidents clamouring for change but the three that stood out were the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, the Liberian FA boss Musa Bility and the charismatic Philip Chiyangwa, the Zimbabwe FA and Council of Southern Africa Football Associations boss.

Amaju Pinnick

NFF boss Pinnick was perhaps the biggest winner at Thursday’s elections. After playing a major role in Ahmad’s victory, the Nigerian then floored Benin Republic’s Anjorin Moucharafou with a 32-17 victory to win a place in CAF’s Executive Committee, becoming the third Nigerian after Oyo Orok Oyo and Amos Adamu to achieve the feat.

After joining the CAF Executive Committee, Ahmad made FA members of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations namely South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Angola and Zimbabwe his allies. But he also knew that he needed Pinnick to turn the tide against Hayatou.

Both men firs deliberated on the issue at the 66th FIFA Congress in May 2016 and the Nigerian went to work, meeting with some other federations bosses.

Highly vocal and in the frontline for a change in African football, Pinnick never hid his intention to ensure that Hayatou’s stronghold on African football came to an end in Addis Ababa, amidst political pressure from his home country.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Hayatou had reportedly had a frosty relationship after the Cameroonian allegedly did not support the emergence of the former UEFA secretar as FIFA boss. And Pinnick cashed in on the ‘cold war’ between the duo to kick-start formalities leading to the ouster of the Cameroonian from African football leadership. And that was by making Infantino his friend.

Eyebrows were raised over the visit of Infantino, with some saying the huge finances involved in hosting the visitors was unnecessary due to the biting economic situation in the country, and with no particular project inaugurated by the FIFA boss.

Questions were also asked on why Hayatou, who should have played a major role during the visit, was absent. And it didn’t go down well with Hayatou, who was once an acting FIFA president.

However, Infantino’s meeting with the 18 federation heads at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, was the initial perfection of the groundwork of the ‘coup’ to kick Hayatou out of office.

In February, Pinnick announced his backing for Ahmad during a BBC interview which drew the ire of some of his compatriots and federation members, who were disposed to having Hayatou remain in power.

“That’s really not the position (of the NFF). I do not think the board sat, deliberated and decided that we should go for a particular candidate — no, we’ve not got there yet,” NFF Executive Committee member Chris Green told BBC.

“I know of Hayatou, I don’t know of Ahmad — I don’t know his pedigree or what he stands for. Hayatou has not done badly. He’s not been against us from 1988 until today. In his own way, he has assisted football to grow in Nigeria.

“He’s brought two international tournaments to Nigeria ­­— the U-20 World Cup in 1999 and the U-17 World Cup (in 2009). We’ve also hosted the Africa Cup of Nations (in 2000).”

However, other members in an official statement signed by the NFF’s Media Director, Ademola Olajire, threw their weight behind Pinnick.

“Every single member of the board spoke on the issue and expressed support for the NFF president, Mr Pinnick, to use his discretion and vote for that candidate who will best serve Nigeria’s interest,” read the statement.

With the handwriting clearly written on the wall, Hayatou allegedly went through the Cameroonian government to reach out to the Nigerian government. Sports minister Solomon Dalung expressed his displeasure over Pinnick’s support for Ahmad, saying the NFF head acted unilaterally without recourse to the political interest of the nation.

But after an emergency meeting with Pinnick and members of his Executive Committee, Dalung said the Federal Government had given its blessing and support to Pinnick ahead of the polls.

A group — now known as the CAF Nine – made up of Nigerians in CAF namely Dominic Oneya, Amos Adamu, Amanze Uchegbulam, Sani Abdullahi, Aminu Maigari, Bolaji Ojo-Oba, Paul Bassey, Aisha Falode and Chris Green also criticised Pinnick’s choice of Ahmad in a last minute effort to thwart the Delta-born official’s efforts.

But it was too little too late. Pinnick had the last laugh in Addis Ababa, as Nigeria returned to the mainstream of football leadership and politics on the continent.

Musa Billity

Last month, Liberian FA president Bility officially declared his support for Ahmad saying, “I’ve officially endorsed the candidacy of Mr. Ahmad. It’s time to move beyond a three decades long reign. CAF is not a kingdom.

“I think there could never have been a better time to honour the life of President Hayatou with a befitting event and bring this era to an end. I’m standing up for change. Join me

“Either we perish fighting for change or live on like chickens. I’ll rather perish fighting to give Africa the joy football brings into our homes and communities than live on explaining why we are not going anywhere.”

Hayatou’s ouster comes as a sweet revenge for the Liberian, who has been in a long drawn battle with the ex-CAF chief. Bility was given a six month ban from all football activities in 2013 for using confidential documents from CAF during a legal battle against Hayatou.

He was involved in a fight against CAF’s rule changes to the process that effectively allowed Hayatou to be re-elected unopposed four years ago. Two years later, Bility would pay for it though, as he was ruled out as a candidate for the FIFA presidency “following integrity checks” in 2015.

However, with Ahmad winning the presidential position and Bility elected member of CAF Executive Committee, there are high expectations for Liberian football. “Africa has made a decision, we are moving forward with football and we have chosen change over the last leadership. Ahmad is crying for all of us. I have been through struggle – I have been suspended. Today, I am very proud of the effort and I want to thank all of my colleagues for making this possible,” Bility said after Thursday’s triumph.

“We have proved to the world that we are ready for the change that is blowing in football across the world. We have seen changes in Europe and in FIFA, everywhere in football in the last 18 months there have been changes. We could not allow ourselves to be left behind. We want to be on that train of change.”

Philip Chiyangwa

Chiyangwa, elected the COSAFA president in December, has been at loggerheads with Hayatou after last month’s decision by the regional body to publicly back Ahmad in the race for the CAF presidency.

But Zimbabwe Sports and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane said government was in support of Chiyangwa’s decision to take on the long-standing CAF head.

Chiyangwa, who is Zimbabwe Football Association boss, was Ahmad’s campaign manager and painstakingly rallied support around the continent in the first serious sign of opposition that Hayatou had faced since he took charge of African football.

He had a disciplinary case pending for describing CAF executives as “cowards” and “cronies” for not standing up to Hayatou and was also involved in a dispute with the football body over a birthday party he hosted in Zimbabwe last month, which was attended by Infantino and other African federation heads.

Pinnick, Bility and South Africa FA boss, Danny Jordaan were the influential leaders from the 24 federations that were present in Harare and it is believed that it was at the meeting that the final plot to kick out Hayatou was hatched before the elections.

Fearing Chiyangwa was using his party to plot Hayatou’s downfall, CAF said the meeting was against its regulations and an attempt to “destabilise” the football governing body.

But with Ahmed having won the election, the disciplinary case against Chiyangwa may have died a natural death.

And the change exponents of African football can now heave a sigh of relief after consigning to history, the man many refer to as football’s Mugabe, in apparent reference to the Zimbabwean dictator, Rober Mugabe, another sit-tight African leader who has ruled the southern African nation since 1980.

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Madagascan Ahmad Ahmad was elected president of the Confederation of African Football Thursday, ousting veteran leader Issa Hayatou after 29 years in office to usher in a “new dawn” for the sport on the continent.

Ahmad, head of Madagascar’s football federation, won the election in the Ethiopian capital by 34 votes to Hayatou’s 20, official results showed.

Delegates cheered and pumped their fists in the plenary hall after the announcement of the result which heralded the departure of the last of the old generation of leaders in world football.

Ahmad, a 57-year-old father of two, had a discreet playing and coaching career before he took the reins of the Madagascar football federation in 2003.

His rare and determined bid for “change” at the head of the CAF this year took many by surprise, and the incumbent was seen as the favourite.

“When you try to do something, you mean that you can do it,” Ahmad told reporters after the vote. “If I can’t do it, I never stand.”

He earlier said his programme was the “reform of the administration of CAF to avoid the involvement of politics in the organisation.”

Cameroonian Hayatou headed CAF since 1988 and is a senior vice president of FIFA. He was credited with increasing the number of African teams at the World Cup and bringing in extra finance for the continent’s competitions.

“His excellency Issa Hayatou has done a lot for African football (but) it is time for him to step back,” said George Afriyie, vice president of the Ghana Football Association.

Hayatou was led from the auditorium by aides who brushed off requests for comment from journalists while Ahmad was picked up and carried by cheering supporters.

“Africa has made an emphatic decision that we are ready for change,” said Liberian Football Association President Musa Bility.

Seyi Akinwunmi, vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation, called Hayatou a “colossus who has bestrode African football for decades” before adding: “It’s a new dawn, all should be happy.

“We’re Africans and Africans never forget their elders. An elder has been defeated today, but he’s still an elder.

“The world has moved on, we really need energy. And the truth is Issa Hayatou is almost 70. There’s only so much really that he can do.

“The world, technologically and in terms of the way you see things, has changed. Speaking with Ahmad, I found that he understood those things.”

– Controversy –

Hayatou’s reign at the head of CAF was often controversial.

He was accused by Britain’s The Sunday Times of receiving $1.5 million to vote for Qatar when it was awarded the 2022 World Cup seven years ago.

In 2011, Hayatou was reprimanded by the International Olympic Committee over money he received from the scandal-tainted sports marketing company ISL in 1995.

He has always insisted the money went to CAF and has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.

On the eve of the vote, it was announced that Hayatou and CAF secretary-general Hicham El-Amrani could face criminal charges in Egypt over deals secured for African football marketing and media rights between 2008 and 2028.

Ahmad has also been implicated in the 2022 World Cup bribe-taking. The Sunday Times said he received between $30,000 and $100,000 for his vote. The Madagascar soccer chief has called the allegations unfounded.

Before the vote Hayatou called for delegates to vote for “unity”.

Laying out some of the priorities for CAF in the future, he mentioned lobbying for 10 places for African nations in the enlarged World Cup field.

He also called for the African Nations Cup to be maintained at the beginning of the year, when the climate is cooler, amid calls for it to be rescheduled to accommodate European clubs who don’t want to lose their African players during their season.